Former Anglo Irish Bank boss David Drumm has dramatically dismissed the legal team who represented him in his bankruptcy appeal.

In a legal filing, he told a US appeals court he would be representing himself in the case in which he is seeking to strike down the decision of a bankruptcy judge to deny him protection from creditors.

Without such protection he remains open to lawsuits for the recovery of his debts of over €10m.

Mr Drumm (49) also sought an eight-week extension to a March 1 deadline he is facing to lodge papers with the US Court of Appeals, claiming this was reasonable if he is to represent himself.

It is unclear what bearing, if any, the decision will have on his anticipated return to Ireland.

Mr Drumm is currently in a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts awaiting extradition to Ireland to face 33 charges relating to his time as chief of Anglo.

It had been thought his extradition could take place within weeks of his decision on February 11 not to contest the issue. No date for his return has been announced yet.

In the legal filing, a lawyer for Mr Drumm said he was incarcerated by the United States Marshals Service in the Plymouth County Correctional Facility and, as a result, "has not been able to adequately confer with counsel".